Power Steering Replacement Cost - Too Much?

Hey guys. I need to replace my power steering pump on the Taco. I havent replaced a major part on a truck before (cars, sure), so I just want to make sure that the price my shop is quoting me is right.

My shop Quote - $330 Out the door (Pump/Parts/Labor/Shop Supplies/Taxes)

I decided to check around with a few other shops to get a comparable.

Shop #2 - $380 Out the door

Shop #3 - $385 Out the door

So far it looks like my shop is the best. They are giving me a discount as Ive been a long time customer of theirs. But being new to the Taco world, I just wanted to ask. Are they all charging too much? Is it right?

Thanks for the help. I need to get this done within the next day or two.

 

If that's what other shops in the area are quoting then I'd say your decision is easy. I replaced mine myself a while back, it was a pain because everything in the north east rusts and doesn't like to be reasonable. If you have done work on cars before you could probably do this with little trouble.

 

For that price, you're not getting a factory Toyota pump (around $350 just for the part). Better get some sort of guarantee for both parts AND labor.

Why are you replacing the entire pump? If it just makes a buzzing noise, then it might just be the filter screen in the reservoir that needs to be cleaned. Some pumps require that you re-use your old reservoir.

 

Replacing the pump as it is now very tough to turn and the pump is whining. fluid is topped off. R/P is new.

 

that sounds like the screen in the pump is clogged and not letting fluid flow. without fluid pressure you have no power steering.

don't be buying a pump just yet, use a turkey baster to suck the fluid out of the reservoir then remove the reservoir from the PS pump and go clean the screen out until you no longer see any trash blocking it. when you are done I bet it works like new again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZwYbvwIQ4Y

 

Hm interesting. The issue is the steering gets tough to turn intermittently. Do you think a clogged filter could be the culprit?

 

absolutely, it runs on fluid pressure, no fluid means no pressure and its very hard to turn.

trust me, its going to be just a dirty screen and you don't need to buy anything to fix it.

 

I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket. My pump was buzzing and cleaning the filter didn't help, replaced it and used old filter & res, no more buzzing. Definitely should check the filter first but don't get your hopes up just in case.

 

So I ran out of daylight, only having enough time to take the reservoir off, draining, and cleaning the crap out of it. I did actually scrap some black gunk out with a flathead. I then sprayed the shit out of the reservoir from both ends with CRC Brake cleaner.

Heres what I was able to take out of the reservoir with the turkey baster:

 

Thats not too bad, just be glad you didn't have to replace your rack and pinion. I know from experience... It can be really freaking expensive.

 

i know. thankfully the R/P was replaced with a brand new one about 6 months ago by the previous owner.

 

that's pretty dirty, it should look red, its transmission fluid after all.

when you refill the sytem do it with Valvoline max life full synthetic and follow the instructions to flush out the R&P and lines

 

Hey guys. Well after emptying out the reservoir, cleaning the filter, and putting in new fluid, it did seem to help a bit.......for about 2min. Once I started driving around a bit, the power steering became ever so more difficult to turn. Had to take it into the shop.

Asked them to drain and bleed the system one more time to see if any more gunk comes out first before replacing anything. Ultimately, I may have to bite the bullet on this one. D:

 

So. Double shitty thing for me.

#1 Shop calls me up, they are sure it's the rack. Quote me $700 out the door.

#2 Get the maintenance docs from previous owner (brother-in-law) and find out the rack is not new and was not replaced 6months ago like he told me. Nope. Replaced back in 2013. So no warranty now.

Question #1: is that too short of a time for the rack to go out?

Question #2: anyone in the ahwatukee/Phoenix area experienced enough to help me replace this sucker to try to save some money?

 

Question #1: is that too short of a time for the rack to go out? well not if it was a used rack taken from a salvaged truck, those are an unknown and if it came from a well cared for truck its better then buying an after market repop rack but if it came from a truck they didn't take care of it may have just been an unlucky thing that the replacement rack also went back

 

I dont have the maintenance record with me, but if Im remembering correctly, it was replaced at the Toyota dealership. Though Im not sure if they used a reman, an off-brand, or what. Ill have to check the receipt.

 

Question. How many u-joints does the Gen1 Taco come with and are they accessible from underneath? After doing research and talking to my shop and toyota, I think the problem may be the joints locking up.

 

Crawled under the truck this morning and snapped some pictures while looking around. From what I can tell, the rack looks almost brand new. No leaks. No tears. Pictures below. However, what I did find is that the U-joint right above the rack is in very bad shape and needs to be replaced. Could this U-joint be the culprit of the steering issue?

Passenger-Side Rack:


Passenger-Side Tie-Rod:


Driver-Side Rack:


Driver-Side Tie-Rod:


U-Joint near Rack:


U-Joint near Rack:


U-Joint near Rack:

 

hit the u-joint with some brake clean to clean it off. make sure you have a plastic drop cloth as it will stain concrete. regrease that fitting and see where the seepage is coming from. it just looks over greased.

 

Welp, cleaned the U-joint and all. No change. Heres where Im at:

• Drained Power Steering Fluid
• Cleaned Reservoir filter
• New Fluid
• No leaks from Power Steering Pump
• Belt looks new
• No whining noise
• Rack looks new with no leaks or tears
• Cleaned the crap out of the u-joints
• Tires at 30psi

I am stumped. Still same issue: Difficult to turn in random spots both when turning to the left and right. Does not veer to one side or the other.

Could it be something in the steering column itself maybe? Need your helps guys.

Details: Power steering was working just fine one day. Then the next day started to get a bit stiff in random spots as mentioned. No changes between those two days. No accidents. No running through water.